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During the long months of the 2020 shutdown, I spent a surprising amount of time watching the History Channel series Ancient Aliens. I began as a skeptic, but the sheer variety of evidence presented gradually challenged my assumptions.
Many years earlier I had read Erich von Däniken’s Chariots of the Gods?, so I was already familiar with the basic outline of ancient alien theory. I had also read Whitley Strieber’s Communion when it was first published, giving me a passing familiarity with the subject of alien abductions. But the evidence presented on Ancient Aliens goes far beyond those early books. At this point, only the most dedicated naysayer could remain completely unmoved by the questions the series raises.
For those unfamiliar with the theory, the basic claim is that various extraterrestrial civilizations have been visiting Earth for thousands, perhaps even millions, of years. The stories told around the world of gods descending from the sky and living among ancient peoples are interpreted not as myths, but as historical accounts. According to the theory, these visitors shared knowledge with humanity, particularly technological knowledge, helping advance civilization.
Some theorists go even further. They propose that extraterrestrials may have altered human DNA, contributing to the emergence of modern humanity, and that they may continue to influence our evolution through the phenomenon of alien abduction. Others suggest that Earth’s entire ecosystem was seeded from elsewhere (panspermia), including the possibility that our moon was deliberately positioned to stabilize Earth’s axis and create the tides necessary for life.
I eventually persuaded my brother Bill to watch the series with me. Over the past several years we have viewed and discussed virtually every episode in its fifteen-season run, some more than once. Yes, many of the stories overlap. The same evidence often appears repeatedly, accompanied by familiar commentary. Yet we found the repetition useful. It allowed us to compare claims, identify recurring themes, and test the internal consistency of the arguments being made.
Bill and I pride ourselves on being open-minded, but we also anchor that openness in logic and critical thinking. As you know, we are both PhDs, with backgrounds in philosophy and rhetoric, and we have both taught critical thinking at the university level. So don’t come away with the notion that we accepted every claim hook, line, and sinker.
One question in particular has occupied much of our attention. Were the gods of antiquity really gods? Were the fallen angels described in the Book of Enoch truly angels sent from God? Or were these figures actually advanced extraterrestrials whose technology was interpreted as divine power?
The Book of Enoch tells of heavenly beings who descended to Earth, mingled with humanity, and even took human wives. Their offspring became known as the Nephilim. The biblical flood is said to have been sent to eradicate these hybrids. But what exactly were the Nephilim? What sort of God would destroy nearly all life on Earth to remove them? And why do angelic beings appear throughout the story warning certain humans to prepare for what was coming?
As the theorists on Ancient Aliens frequently point out, such stories can be viewed either as myths or as history. If they are history, however, who are the actors involved? Are we truly dealing with God, angels, and the deities of ancient cultures? Or are these accounts describing advanced off-world intelligences engaged in competing visions of humanity’s destiny, sometimes with catastrophic consequences?
These questions have fueled countless discussions between Bill and me. Interestingly, they have unfolded alongside our ongoing exploration of Gnostic theology. As we’ve continued untangling the distinctions between Aeons, Archons, angels, fallen angels, the God Above All Gods, and the god of this world, we’ve gradually arrived at a framework that makes surprising sense of many of these ancient mysteries.
Today I’d like to share that framework with you.
Where Ancient Alien Theory and Gnosticism Agree
After spending several years examining the claims of Ancient Aliens through a Gnostic lens, I’ve found that I agree with more of the theory than I ever expected.
Ancient alien theorists question the sufficiency of purely random Darwinian evolution. They argue that the extraordinary complexity of life, consciousness, and civilization suggests purposeful intervention.
On this point, I find myself in substantial agreement.
As I’ve discussed elsewhere in episodes such as Evolution and Conscious Aeonic Design, I regard evolution not as a blind and accidental process but as a directed unfolding of consciousness through time. Where ancient alien theorists identify extraterrestrial visitors as the guiding intelligence behind this development, I identify the guiding intelligence as the Aeons of the Fullness. I’m putting the link to one of my evolution episodes here in today’s transcript.
The difference is significant.
For many ancient alien theorists, purposeful design implies advanced extraterrestrial engineers. For Gnosticism, purposeful design originates from the Fullness of God itself.
The First Category: Aeons
To understand the distinction, we must begin with the Aeons.
In Valentinian Gnostic cosmology, the Aeons dwell within the Pleroma, or Fullness of God. They are not physical beings in the ordinary sense. Rather, they are divine intelligences, principles, powers, personalities, and attributes through which the intentions of the Father become manifest.
If ancient alien theorists are correct that evolution has been guided, then I would attribute that guidance not to flesh-and-blood extraterrestrials but to Aeonic design.
The Aeons represent order, purpose, meaning, and realization. Through them, the material cosmos unfolds toward increasingly complex expressions of consciousness.
Merely replacing God with extraterrestrials does not solve the fundamental problem of origins. The question remains: where did the order come from in the first place?
Randomness cannot account for persistent increase in complexity and meaning. Throwing the components of life into the air an infinite number of times does not explain why they repeatedly organize themselves into functioning systems. The question of purpose remains.
Gnosticism answers that purpose precedes manifestation. The Aeons are that purpose. They are manifesting the will of God the Father.
The Transpersonal Field
Ancient alien theorists frequently point to the phenomenon of simultaneous invention.
Again and again throughout history, important discoveries have emerged independently in multiple locations at nearly the same time. Language, architecture, metallurgy, medicine, radio technology, relativity theory, and numerous other innovations seem to appear almost as if humanity accesses a common reservoir of knowledge.
The theorists often describe this reservoir as the Akashic Record or as a form of extraterrestrial guidance.
I agree that such a field exists. However, I understand it differently. I regard the transpersonal field as an aspect of the Metaversal Unit of Consciousness itself: a repository of all that was, is, and will be. Human beings access this field continuously, though usually unconsciously. Inventors, artists, philosophers, and visionaries often reach into it through contemplation, dreaming, intuition, and insight.
In my view, we do not need extraterrestrial programmers to explain this phenomenon. Consciousness itself provides the explanation.
The Second Category: Archons
Now we come to a category frequently overlooked in ancient alien discussions.
The Archons.
According to Gnostic cosmology, Archons are not Aeons, and they are not angels.
They are the inverted shadows of divine order.
Where the Aeons move toward realization, Archons move toward distortion. Where Aeons foster truth, Archons foster confusion. They are entropic forces generated through the deficiency associated with the Demiurge.
Unlike living creatures, Archons possess no souls. They have no consciousness, no personal identity. They are demiurgic puppets.
They are not products of the Fullness. They are products of separation from the Fullness.
This distinction becomes particularly useful when discussing technology. Many ancient alien theorists interpret technological advancement as evidence of benevolent extraterrestrial influence. Yet technology itself is neutral. It can illuminate or enslave. It can connect humanity or divide it.
The internet provides a perfect example. One of humanity’s greatest achievements has simultaneously become one of its greatest engines of distraction, manipulation, and division.
When technological innovation amplifies vanity, domination, deception, and dependency, I suspect Archonic influence rather than Aeonic influence.
The Archons thrive through confusion, distraction, fragmentation, and conflict.
That is their signature.
The Third Category: Angels
Throughout scripture angels appear as beings capable of moving between dimensions of existence. Sometimes they appear fully physical. Sometimes they appear as luminous forms. They interact directly with humanity while simultaneously transcending ordinary physical limitations.
In Gnostic thought, angels appear to function as allies of humanity in our ongoing struggle against Archonic forces.
Where the Archons seek bondage, angels seek liberation.
Where Archons cultivate deception, angels encourage truth.
This distinction becomes particularly interesting when considering reports of mysterious interventions involving advanced technology.
Ancient alien researchers often cite accounts of unexplained interference with nuclear weapons systems. Some reports describe luminous objects disabling missiles without causing harm. If such accounts are accurate, I would not automatically classify the intervention as extraterrestrial. Such actions are equally consistent with angelic activity: protective interventions intended to prevent catastrophe.
Not every luminous being belongs in the extraterrestrial category.
The Fourth Category: Aliens
And now we arrive at the category that fascinates most viewers of Ancient Aliens.
Actual extraterrestrials.
Do they exist?
I believe their existence is as likely as not. Yet I do not believe every unusual phenomenon should automatically be attributed to them.
When all other categories have been properly separated, a remarkable amount of evidence still appears to point toward genuine non-human civilizations. Accounts from around the world describe beings descending from the heavens, sharing knowledge, establishing settlements, constructing monumental architecture, and sometimes interacting intimately with human populations.
The Book of Enoch preserves one such tradition. It describes non-human beings who descended to Earth, taught forbidden arts, and produced offspring with human women.
Whether one interprets these stories literally or symbolically, they differ significantly from descriptions of angels and differ even more from descriptions of Archons.
These beings behave like a civilization.
- They arrive.
- They teach.
- They build.
- They intervene.
- They pursue agendas.
In other words, they behave much like humans would behave if we possessed interstellar technology.
From a Gnostic perspective, extraterrestrials would simply be another form of what the Tripartite Tractate calls Second Order Powers: living creatures participating in creation. They would possess souls just as we do. They would struggle with ego, ambition, cooperation, conflict, wisdom, and folly just as we do.
Their civilizations may be older than ours. Their technology may surpass ours. But they remain participants in the same cosmic drama.
The Ultimate Extraterrestrial
Which finally brings us to the question of God.
Who is the ultimate extraterrestrial? The answer depends upon which God we are discussing.
The Father described in Gnostic cosmology is not a being among beings. The Father is not an old man seated upon a throne somewhere beyond the stars.
The Father is the Infinite Consciousness underlying all reality.
The Father does not belong to creation. Creation belongs to the Father.
The Demiurge, by contrast, is much closer to the deity portrayed throughout much of the Old Testament. The Demiurge speaks. Commands. Negotiates. Punishes. Rewards. Chooses sides.
This distinction remains one of the most controversial teachings within Gnosticism.
Yet it provides a powerful framework for interpreting stories that otherwise seem contradictory.
The God who sends floods, plagues, and catastrophic judgments appears very different from the Father proclaimed by Jesus.
For Gnostics, that difference is not accidental. It is foundational.
Conclusion
So where have Bill and I landed after years of discussing these questions?
We have concluded that ancient alien theorists correctly identify many genuine mysteries. Where I differ is in the tendency to place every non-human intelligence into a single category.
Gnosticism offers a richer vocabulary.
- Some encounters may involve Aeons.
- Some may involve Archons.
- Some may involve angels.
- Some may involve extraterrestrials.
- And above them all stands the Father, the Infinite Consciousness from which all reality ultimately emerges—what we Gnostics call the God Above All Gods.
The challenge is not deciding whether non-human intelligences exist. The challenge is learning how to tell them apart. That, perhaps, is the most important question of all.
Where do you stand on these distinctions? What is your opinion? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Until next week, onward and upward. And God Bless Us All.
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